River Road’s Path

Louisville, Kentucky has neighborhoods requiring attention to bring back to life. A few neighborhoods are being invested in, e.g., NULU, Portland, Smoketown, & downtown, however there is one area I think is extremely important to the city. It connects to unique neighborhoods: Butchertown, Clifton Heights, Downtown & NULU & most importantly one of the cities most valuable assets the river.

River Road is east of downtown, as the name suggests running along the Ohio River. Currently a little developmental activity is happening such as the River Park Place & Botanical gardens. Two great & breathtaking projects, doing exactly what the developers desire. However, in my opinion neither is providing what the area needs, connectivity to the surrounding neighborhoods creating an improved quality of life for the city.

The area is engrossed with underutilized land along the Ohio River, as seen in Figure 1. The Ohio River has enormous potential for the city. As mentioned in an early article ‘Disneyfication is not Welcomed’, it has the ability to bring energy to communities by creating a close connection between humans & nature by speaking to communities physically & psychologically. Most importantly for the area is keeping the originality of Louisville.

The area screams for pedestrian freedom, buildings working for the environment, inspirational beauty, & diversity. River Community should welcome everyone to celebrate the abundance of environmental beauty, strolling across the Big Four Bridge, relaxing by the river, shopping, eating, & most importantly connectivity.

See below for the potential of River Road.

Figure 1: Mapping the different occupancy of River Road.Figure 2: River Road looking East with a before & after.Figure 3: River Road looking East with a before & after.